The clock said 94:58 when the ball hit the net. The game was set to end at 95:00.

Draw. 2-2.

Portugal, ranked No. 4 in the world, still alive.

Victory stolen from the Americans, who now face powerful Germany on Thursday.

It's been that kind of World Cup, the kind where you're beginning to almost expect these kind of displays. Back and forth. Goals. Comebacks. Constant action and drama. USA-Portugal certainly had it all.

Portugal started the scoring with an early goal.

Then the U.S. came back and improbably took the lead, thanks to two improbably fantastic goals by Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey.

One thing has become clear in this World Cup: Anything is possible. Throw the common wisdom out the window.

The reigning champs are already out.

Three teams from CONCACAF, the confederation of North and Central American teams, could make it to the knockout round for the first time ever.

In Group C, the supposed group of champions, three teams ranked in FIFA's top 10 -- former World Cup champions Italy, England and Uruguay -- were supposed to fight it out for two spots in the knockout stages. Instead, unheralded Costa Rica is through, England is out, and Uruguay and Italy face off for the right to move on.

The four tournament favorites have all looked beatable. Brazil drew with Mexico, Germany drew with Ghana, Argentina needed a stoppage time goal to beat Iran, and Spain is out of the tourney. Mexico, Ghana and Iran are ranked No. 20, 37, and 43, respectively, by FIFA.

Yes, all but one of the early teams to clinch advancement are highly ranked teams. But so much remains open that it feels like a different sort of tournament. Goal-scoring is up. Games are wild. This kind of thing doesn't often happen.

Qualification scenarios

Every team has one game left to play in the group stage, so every team knows what must happen for them to move on. Here's a breakdown:

Several groups feature matches between two teams fighting for the same spot in the second round, notably Mexico-Croatia on Monday and Italy-Uruguay on Tuesday.

There is even the unlikely but possible scenario that one second-round spot could be decided by a coin flip between Nigeria and Iran.

For full tiebreaker rules -- and they definitely matter, certainly for Team USA -- click here.

Player of the day: Jermaine Jones. Born and raised in Germany, Jones scored an absolute stunner of a goal that came from nowhere to put the U.S. back on even terms against Portugal. He has shown in this World Cup that he can play with the world's best.

Goat of the day: Geoff Cameron. The U.S. center back was directly at fault on both Portugal goals. On the final goal, it was his weak clearance attempt that allowed Varela to blow past him for the winner. Even worse, his shanked clearance absolutely gifted the Portuguese their first goal. Cameron is one of the best American players, but this is the defenders' curse: Everyone remembers your bad plays more than your good ones, because they become goals.

Best match to watch Monday: Croatia-Mexico at 4 p.m. ET. Chile-Netherlands may seem the sexier match at noon, but Croatia-Mexico is do-or-die. One of these two teams will move on to the second round. The other will go home. Croatia is a good team, and Mexico has a hot goalkeeper in Guillermo Ochoa.